INTERIORS AND EXTERIORS | AUTOMOTIVE
Green light for auto plastics
Automotive injection moulders now have a much broader range of material groups to choose
from.Peter Mapleston explores new polypropylenes, polyamides and recycled compounds
New developments in plastics for automobile interiors and exteriors are providing new options for suppliers and OEMs to improve aesthetics, increase performance, lose weight, reduce carbon footprints, and generally improve sustainability in a cost-effective manner. Inter-polymer competition has probably never been so active: as has been the case for some time now, polypropylene is taking on pricier engineering thermoplastics such as polyam- ides, for example, while producers of polymer alloys are honing properties for very specific tasks. But maybe the most startling development is in bioplastics: compounds based on polylactide (PLA) are now in a position to take on many new roles in durable, high-performance applications (see accompanying article on page 30). Petrochemicals giant LyondellBasell, automotive Tier One Rehau, and surface specialist Eschmann
www.injectionworld.com
Textures said in early November that they had together created a physically foamed rear lower trim with an excellent surface appearance, de- signed to meet new sustainability goals at BMW. “Thanks to the combination of the expertise from all three companies – raw material, part design and moulding, and ceramic [mould] coating – the foamed part achieved the highest surface/quality ranking and passed a certificated test series with good results,” the companies said in a statement. The foamed part is injection moulded in Hifax
TYC 2182F, a polypropylene compound that LyondellBasell says is ideal for producing exterior parts with long flow paths and long flow path/wall thickness ratios. The material also met the need for high scratch-resistance. As part of the project, the three companies collaborated with scientists from the Chemnitz
November/December 2020 | INJECTION WORLD 17
Main image: Sustainability has been added to the list of requirements for plastics used in car components
IMAGE: SHUTTERSTOCK
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